Retaining means for hairpins, combs, and the like



L. J. RHEIN AND R. A. REHBAUER. RETAINING MEANS FOR HAIRPINS, COMES, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR, 30, I918.

1,397,904. Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS J. RHEIN AND RANDOLPH A. REHRAUER, OF TWO RIVERS, WISCONSIN.

RETAINING MEANS FOR HAIRPINS, GOMBS, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed March 30, 1918.

To (ZZZ whomz't may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS J. RHEIN and RANDOLPH A. RnHneUrR, citizens of the United States, and residents of Two Rivers, in the county of Manitowoc and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retaining Means for Hairpins, Combs, and the like; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Our invention relates to improvements in means for preventing the accidental withdrawal of hair pins, combs and the like from the wearers hair, the principal object of the device being to prevent the loss of articles of this general nature. The means is so constructed, however, that the hair pin, comb or the like may be readily withdrawn at the will of the user. It is also an object of the invention to provide means on hair pins, combs or the like for retaining the massed arrangement of the hair of the user.

A further object is to provide a simple and eflicient article of this character which can be inexpensively manufactured and marketed at approximately the cost of the average hair pin or comb of similar quality.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed, and shown in the drawing wherein:

Figure 1 represents a hair pin of celluloid, rubber or similar material having our invention incorporated therewith.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a wire hair pin also formed with the invention.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the modified form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a wire hair pin provided with said modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of a comb of conventional design provided with our improved retaining means.

eferring more particularly to Fig. l, the numeral 1 denotes a shell or bone hair pin, which form of hair pin is usually constructed of celluloid, amberoid or similar material. As is usual in articles of this character the same consists of a pair of legs 2 and 3 which are connected together as at 4t at one end. Such hair pins are substantially inverted U-shape and the connecting portion of the legs is resilient to permit the latter Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921. Serial No. 225,832.

to readily move toward and away from each other. 7

The present invention consists in adding an inwardly extending projection on each leg, said projections in the present form being arcuate. The projection 5 which is formed on the leg 2 has its outer end spaced a greater distance from the free end of said leg than the distance between the outer end of the other projection 6 and the similar end of its leg 3.

Owing to this disposition of the projections, it Wlll be seen that they are oflset with respect to each other and in close proximity. Furthermore such relationship of the parts permits the innermost portion of each projection to extend beyond and to be intersected by, a plane extending longitudinally of the legs and equidistant from each as indicated by the line A B.

The hair pin illustrated in Fig. 2 is substantially the same as that hereinbefore de scribed except that it is formed of wire. Such hair pin includes substantially parallel legs 2 and 3 connected together at one end as at l The projections 5 and 6 are formed respectively on the legs 2 and 3, and the former is spaced inwardly of the latter as in the first described form.

Referring now to the Fig. 3 wherein it will be seen that a hair pin of the character illustrated in Fig. l is shown, the same comprising a pair of legs 2 and 3", the major portions of the same being substantially parallel and resiliently connected together as at at". The retaining means in this instance consists of a pair of projections 5 and 6 formed respectively on the legs 2 and 3". These projections serve the same purpose as the projections in the other two forms, the principal difference being that the passageway between the adjacent portions being more tortuous. This is provided by bending the intermediate part of each projection outwardly as at 7. Thus, inasmuch as one projection is disposed outwardly of the other, the outermost end portion of the projection 5 is positioned in the depression provided by the bending outwardly of the central part of the projection 6". Similarly the innermost portion of the last mentioned projection is disposed in the depression 7 of the other projection 5".

A wire hair pin constructed in the manner of the hair pin just described is illusimmaterial.

trated inFig. 4. In this instance instead of adding projections to the legs 2 and 8, the intermediate portions of the same are bent inwardly toward each other to provide cooperating projections jections have'their intermediate parts bent outwardly to procure the tortuous passageway referred to in the last paragraph in connection with the form depictedin Fig. 3.

Our invention is also applicable to combs as well as hair pins, as will appear from the examination of Fig. 5 in comb of conventional design rality of teeth 9 and 10. teeth 9 each have an inwardly extending arcuate projection 11 formed thereon for cooperation with similar arcuate projections 12. Such projections serve the same purpose as the similar parts of the hair pins, one being positioned outwardly of the other, Although the comb is shown with a-retaining means at each end, it is obvious that the same may be constructed with only one such means, or with more than two, thenumber of the same as well as their location being In any case whether the invention is applied to a comb or to a hair pin, it is preferable that the teeth or legs, as the case may be, be resilient,

The operation is the same in all instances and is briefly as follows: For example a hair pin' isi'orced into thetwearers hair, such movement springing the legs apart slightly to permit the strands of hair to pass between the projections. After the hair pin is inserted as far as necessary or having a plu- The outermost 5 and 6 These pro,

which 8 denotes a desirable, the legs obvious move together to their normal position to dispose the projections in close proximity. The hair is thus retained in the relatively closed space between said projections and the connected portion of the legs. The strands of hair will be so retained until the hair pin is pulled outwardly by the wearer, and there is slight danger of the same accidentally working out and becoming lost.

We claim as our invention. s

A hairpin comprising a pair oflegs resiliently connected together at one end, an arcuate projection formedon each leg,'the arcuate projection of oneleg being closer to the free end of its leg than the arcuate projection of the other leg is from its corre sponding end, the arc of said projections being struck on a relatively long radius, the middleportion ofieach projection being bent laterally awayfrom the longitudinal center of the pin, the inner end portion of the curve ofthe first mentioned projection and the lateral bend thereof beingengaged with, or in close proximity to, the outer end portion of the curve of the second-mentioned projection and the lateralbend thereof to provide a relatively long entrance throat and a tortuous passageway therebetween.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands at Two R1v-' ers, in the county of of WVisconsin.

I LOUIS J. RHEIN Manitowoc, and State 

